NEW HMRC diesel rules that come into play on April 1, 2022, will ban the use of red diesel for tractor road runs and ploughing matches across the UK.

The majority of these road runs raise much needed funds for various charities, and organisers fear this income could be severely hit come April.

Technically speaking, the use of red diesel in tractors for road runs has been discouraged for a few years, but it seems to be a new requirement for tractors at ploughing matches to be on white diesel.

The major diesel use changes are a result of the government’s decision to remove the entitlement to use rebated diesel and biofuels from most sectors from April 2022 to help meet its climate change and air quality targets.

These tax changes, said the government, will ensure that most users of rebated diesel use fuel taxed at the standard rate for diesel from April 2022, like motorists, which more fairly reflects the harmful impact of the emissions they produce.

The government said: “Restricting use of rebated diesel and biofuels, including marked oils, will also help to ensure that the tax system incentivises users of polluting fuels like diesel to improve the energy efficiency of their vehicles and machinery, invest in cleaner alternatives, or just use less fuel.”

Agriculture is one of very few sectors that was further permitted to use red diesel, but the ‘agricultural use’ definition has been severely tightened.

HMRC permits the use of red diesel for ‘vehicles and machinery used in agriculture, horticulture, fish farming and forestry'. This means farmers and agricultural contractors can use red diesel during agricultural use. Excavator operators can also use it if the job is agricultural – but if it’s on a construction site, the tank must be flushed out and white diesel used.

HMRC confirmed the same rules apply to tractor road runs and ploughing matches. Michael Lyttle from HMRC said: “These wouldn’t be acceptable uses of red diesel.”

Stanley Livingstone helps run the Livingstone Christmas Tractor Road Run each year, Northern Ireland’s biggest such event, attracting 750 tractors.

Stanley said: “We have been holding our event for ten years now and have raised over £650,000 for charities. It’s a total disgrace if tractor drivers will be forced to use white diesel.

“They simply will stop coming to the runs and it will be the charities that suffer. Northern Ireland folk are very generous with their time and money when it comes to charities. We never know when we may need one of them in our lives.

“It costs a lot of money to host the tractor road runs and to prepare tractors and transport them to the event. People take pride in their tractors making sure they are spotless for road runs.

“No participant will flush the red diesel out of their fuel tanks to fill them with white just to go on a road run. This could spell the end of the tractor road runs, but we are determined to fight for our event and continue somehow to raise money for our charities,” he said.